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IN THIS ISSUE
Iowa STEM Assessment: The Gold Standard
Work-Based Learning Plans: Remember when there were just twelve?
Students Gain through Teacher Summer Workplace Experience
Teacher Prep Begins for Exemplar STEM Programming
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UPCOMING EVENTS
August 17, 2023 - 11:00 a.m.
Southeast Regional STEM Advisory Board Meeting
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August 20, 2023 - 9:00 a.m.
STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair
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August 25, 2023 - 2:00 p.m.
Northwest Regional STEM Advisory Board Meeting
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August 29, 2023 - 3:00 p.m.
South Central Regional STEM Advisory Board Meeting
More information
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Iowa STEM Assessment: The Gold Standard | |
A higher proportion of students who participated in a STEM Scale-Up Program said they were "very interested" in all STEM subjects and in pursuing a STEM career. | |
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The external, independent, and transparent annual evaluation of Iowa STEM provides the Council, the legislature, investors, and STEM consumers the reliable evidence they need to gauge impact. Coordinated each year by the Center for Social and Behavioral Research at the University of Northern Iowa, findings are contributed by Iowa Testing at the University of Iowa, the Research Institute for Studies in Education at Iowa State University and data centers at the Iowa Department of Education, Iowa Workforce Development, the Board of Regents and others. Some analysis is performed in-house by staff of the Council as well.
The result is a 90-page compendium detailing return-on-investment. Last week the data from academic year 2021-22 arrived, and highlights include:
- Students who took part in the Council’s STEM Scale-Up Programs between 2017 and 2021 who went on to an Iowa university declared STEM majors at a 47.7% rate, compared to peers opting for STEM at 37.6%.
- When compared to their peers on the Iowa statewide assessment, STEM participants scored +2 percentage points higher on mathematics and +3 percent on science.
- For minority students, +6 percent scored Proficient or Advanced in science and +5 percent in mathematics compared to their peers.
- Participants in the STEM Scale-Up Program were 7 percent more interested in living and working in Iowa when they graduate compared to peers.
- 67 Iowa counties now have at least one STEM BEST school, more than two-thirds of which are in rural schools.
- Nine in ten randomly surveyed adult Iowans feel that STEM should be a priority in their local schools, though only 44 percent believe it currently is a priority.
The annual report is the gold standard in state and regional assessment reporting. Many additional findings spanning geography, demography and the economy of STEM education in Iowa, including less rosy trends around college readiness and equal access more generally, are detailed in the report posted at IowaSTEM.org/iowa-STEM-evaluation.
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Work-Based Learning Plans: Remember when there were just twelve? | |
The Central Community School District STEM BEST Program model is focused on industrial technology and advanced manufacturing. The district joined eight others to develop plans to seed the landscape for work-based learning in Iowa. | |
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In 2022, nine Iowa school leaders came together under a partnership of Iowa STEM and the Iowa Department of Education to fashion a model for district-wide, K-12 work-based learning plans. Criteria included detailing the spectrum of innovative WBL options (existent or planned) across grade levels and content areas; the on-boarding of employer-partners; the professional development provided to educators and to workplace partners; and how WBL is used in classes for contextualizing the learning of content and skills.
Three such plans from Pella, Spencer and Waterloo community schools were completed and posted to https://www.iowastem.org/WBLplans for study and possible emulation. Interest began to grow.
In 2023, Iowa STEM competitively awarded modest mini-grants ($5,500) to twelve STEM BEST® programs across the state to support their writing of District WBL Plans. Nine recently crossed the finish line to join the showcase on the STEM website: BCLUW, Central, Cherokee, Eastern Allamakee, MFL MarMac, MOC-Floyd Valley, Sheldon, Sioux Center and West Des Moines community schools. Each of their plans, in addition to the criteria above, also include staffing, costs/funding, community partner, and importantly, the challenges and barriers to overcome.
The intent of these dozen WBL plans produced by some of Iowa’s leading educational innovators, is to seed the landscape for work-based learning expansion throughout the state. After all, applied learning in exciting settings is what every young Iowan deserves, producing the future workforce that every employer depends upon. May district-wide WBL plans soon become so common that we all look back at 2023 and ask “Remember when there were just twelve?”
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Students Gain through Teacher Summer Workplace Experience | |
Nick Long, industrial technology teacher at MMCRU Schools, completed a summer STEM Teacher Externship at Wetherall Manufacturing where he worked on producing a new hydraulic cylinder on a CNC lathe. | |
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This summer marked another record-setting year for the Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program. A total of 82 teachers embarked on a hands-on, exploration of local careers in 69 workplaces spanning the state. A forum at the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) Ankeny Campus culminated the summer program for the teacher externs, workplace hosts and extern mentors and provided an opportunity to learn how others will be taking the experience back to their schools, businesses and communities.
Brad Goedken, Ankeny High School teacher, Iowa STEM Teacher Extern and former business and industry executive, served as the keynote speaker for the forum and emphasized the importance of bringing real workplace experience and context into classroom lessons. He said, “Our primary job is to prepare young people for the world they are going out into.”
During the forum, workplace hosts collaborated on building a better externship and school-workplace partnerships and teacher externs brainstormed about building their authentic learning toolbox and lesson development.
“The STEM Teacher Externships Program provides such a meaningful experience for educators and business partners,” said Ann Gritzner, Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program Coordinator for the STEM Council. “2023 marked the fifteenth summer for STEM Teacher Externships, with 859 educator placements since 2009. This program is reaching countless students through their teachers who are working through their summer to provide enriching education experiences.”
For more information about the Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program, visit iowastem.org/externships or contact Ann Gritzner at gritzner@iowastem.org.
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Teacher Prep Begins for Exemplar STEM Programming | |
Nearly 20 educators attended STEM Scale-Up Program training for TeacherGeek STEM Cart in West Union. STEM Cart is one of 13 STEM Scale-Up Programs that Iowa students will get to experience this fall. | |
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Preparations are well underway by librarians, classroom teachers, homeschool networks, daycare providers and more to incorporate exemplary STEM programs during the upcoming academic year. From coding and drones to mathematics literacy and aquaponics, educators are gathering in communities across Iowa for trainings on one of the thirteen programs available on the 2023-2024 STEM Scale-Up Program menu.
Nearly 20 teachers gathered at the West Union Community Library for TeacherGeek STEM Cart training.
“We will use the STEM Cart to meet a diverse set of needs,” said Shanna Putnam-Dibble, teacher at John Cline Elementary in Decorah. “We want to celebrate when kids hit their personal goals and take it beyond classroom lessons and bring joy into learning.”
“Kids need hands-on learning experiences where they have the freedom to work at their own pace,” said Kari O’Hara, teacher at John Cline Elementary. “Everyone learns in a different way. This program fosters student ownership in learning, collaboration, teamwork and problem-solving.”
Dozens of additional STEM Scale-Up Program trainings will take place in the six STEM regions in Iowa for a total of 1,383 educators over the coming weeks. Educators who teach STEM Scale-Up Programs express more confidence in teaching STEM topics and an increase in STEM knowledge. Students who participate in STEM Scale-Up Programming consistently outperform their peers in standardized tests and indicate more interest in a STEM career.
To learn more about the STEM Scale-Up Program, visit IowaSTEM.org/scale-up.
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Contact the Iowa STEM Operations Center by phone at (319) 273-2959
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